Flores en honor a las víctimas de la masacre en Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
La policía estadounidense buscaba pistas el martes sobre los motivos que llevaron a un jubilado aficionado al juego, pero sin antecedentes criminales, a abrir fuego desde lo alto de un hotel en Las Vegas contra una multitud que presenciaba un concierto, matando a decenas de personas antes de acabar con su vida.
El ataque comenzó en la noche del domingo desde una ventana del piso 32 del hotel Mandalay Bay y dejó al menos 59 muertos y más de 500 heridos. El atacante se disparó luego de protagonizar el tiroteo masivo más mortífero en la historia moderna de Estados Unidos.
El hombre, identificado como Stephen Paddock, de 64 años, no dejó pistas claras sobre sus motivaciones para tener un arsenal de armas de alto calibre, que incluía 42 pistolas, o para la matanza que provocó al atacar a una multitud de 22.000 personas que asistía a un festival de música country al aire libre.
No existe conocimiento de que Paddock haya servido en el ejército, ni de que sufriera alguna enfermedad mental o desadaptación social, descontento político ni opiniones radicales en redes sociales.
“Era un hombre enfermo, un demente”, dijo el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, a los periodistas. “Muchos problemas, supongo, y estamos investigándole de forma muy muy seria, pero estamos lidiando con un individuo muy muy enfermo”.
El mandatario declinó responder a una pregunta sobre si consideraba el ataque como un acto de terrorismo local.
Funcionarios de Estados Unidos también descartaron una adjudicación de responsabilidad por parte del grupo radicalizado Estado Islámico. La policía cree que Paddock actuó solo.
“No tenemos idea de cuáles eran sus creencias”, dijo el alguacil del condado de Clark, Joseph Lombardo, a periodistas. “No puedo entrar en la mente de un sicópata”.
Aunque la policía dijo que no tenía otros sospechosos, Lombardo señaló que los investigadores quieren hablar con la novia del atacante, Marilou Danley, quien está de viaje en el extranjero, posiblemente en Tokio.
Lombardo indicó también que los detectives “conocen a otros individuos” implicados en la venta de las armas a Paddock.
Al parecer, lo más cercano que había estado Paddock a un encontronazo con la ley fue una infracción de tránsito, de acuerdo a las autoridades.
Al igual que en tiroteos masivos anteriores, el debate sobre la tenencia de armas volvió a reavivarse, pero Trump afirmó que “hablaremos sobre las leyes de armas cuando pase el tiempo.
Por Alexandria Sage y Lisa Girion/Reuters
Fotos Reuters
Flags are at half staff to honor those killed and injured in the Las Vegas mass shooting at the Washington Monument in Washington, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAYA police officer looks through a gate as she stands watch at the crime scene following the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakePersonal belongings lay tossed aside on the fair grounds following the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakeMorning light reflects off the Mandalay Bay hotel and the broken windows where shooter Stephen Paddock conducted his shooting spree from the 32nd floor in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakeThe stage and crime scene at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., is shown October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakePersonal belongings lay tossed aside on the fair grounds following the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakePersonal belongings lay tossed aside on the fair grounds following the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakeA police car patrols behind the stage of the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakePolice patrol the crime scene following the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakeA departing passenger plane flies over the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike BlakeGeneral view of the hemicycle as members of parliament observe a minute of silence in tribute to the two women who were stabbed to death Sunday in a knife attack at the main train station in Marseille and in tribute to the victims of a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas, before the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit TessierA makeshift memorial is seen next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonFlowers and candles are seen by site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonA makeshift memorial is seen next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonA makeshift memorial is seen next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonFlowers are pictured near the site of the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Chris WattieFlowers are pictured near the site of the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Chris WattieFlowers are pictured near the site of the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Chris WattieA police vehicle enters the site of the mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Chris WattieA police officer stands in front of the closed Las Vegas Strip next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonA police officer stands in front of the closed Las Vegas Strip next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonA police officer stands in front of the closed Las Vegas Strip next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonNews crews stand in front of the closed Las Vegas Strip next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonFlowers are seen next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonAn empty Las Vegas Strip is seen next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonNews crews stand in front of the closed Las Vegas Strip next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonMember of a news crew stands in front of the closed Las Vegas Strip next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonPolice stand in front of the closed Las Vegas Strip next to the site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
